Sensex, Nifty edge lower; Jindal Steel, Arvind fall up to 6%; Rattanindia Enterprises jumps 8%

Indian equity benchmarks traded slightly lower in Wednesday's trade, dragged by banks, financials and metal shares. The 30-share BSE Sensex slipped 58 points or 0.09 per cent to trade at 63,817, while the broader NSE Nifty was down 12 points or 0.06 per cent to trade at 19,067. Although, mid- and small-cap shares were up as Nifty Midcap 100 rose 0.06 per cent and small-cap climbed 0.50 per cent.

Asian markets were up today. Overnight, Wall Street equities closed higher, ahead of the US Federal Reserve's policy decision, due later in the day.

Back home, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 696.02 crore during the previous session. In contrast, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers and added Rs 340.25 crore.

10 out of the 15 sector gauges -- compiled by the National Stock Exchange -- were trading in the red. Sub-indexes Nifty Bank, Nifty Financial Services and Nifty Metal were underperforming the NSE platform by falling as much as 0.25 per cent, 0.20 per cent and 0.58 per cent, respectively.

On the stock-specific front, JSW Steel was the top loser in the Nifty pack as the stock cracked 1.64 per cent to trade at Rs 724.25. Airtel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Asian Paints and PowerGrid fell up to 0.55 per cent.

In contrast, BPCL, Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp, ONGC and Wipro were among the top gainers.

The overall market breadth was positive as 1,793 shares were advancing while 891 were declining on BSE.

On the 30-share BSE index, HDFC Bank, Kotak Bank, Axis Bank, Airtel, ICICI Bank and Asian Paints were among the top laggards.

Also, Jindal Steel & Power Ltd, Arvind Ltd, CARE Ratings Ltd, Star Health and Allied Insurance Company Ltd and Vardhman Textiles Ltd tanked up to 6.39 per cent.

On the other hand, Rattanindia Enterprises Ltd, BBTC, JP Associates, Vodafone Idea and C.E. Info Systems Ltd jumped up to 8.49 per cent.

Nifty outlook

"The pull back that ensued after coming close to the 19,250 objective, reversed on test of 19,070, which was pencilled in yesterday to contain dips. Favoured view, however, sees relief to be short-lived, leading to extended slide towards 18,940. Alternatively, push beyond 19,120 could dilute the bearish bias, but it would require a push above 19,250 to lend momentum to upside attempts," said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

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